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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Do You Have The Card?

There's an important card I have that helps to save me money...it isn't a credit card or a debit card or a "get out of jail free" card...It's my library card! And, I didn't realize what a savings it would be to me until I started making other cost-cutting efforts around the house.

In an effort to save money, one of the first things we did was pull the plug on our cable television. We did this about six months ago. It has been a savings to us but we've also found that we are no longer held captive to the television set! I suppose, like most Americans, we didn't realize how captive we were until, well, we weren't.
I can tell you that I do not miss game shows, soap operas or movies depicting violence, profanity and horrific acts. I do not miss the news. I do not miss re-runs of shows that I never watched when they were on the tube for the first time. I do not miss commercials. I do not miss the ads for the newest in prescriptions to prevent depression, heart disease or any prescription where the side effects are worse than the original disease. I do not miss commercials for cleaning products, dog food, cat food, or any other type of food, especially snack food that only makes me hungry. I do not miss commercials for car insurance, house insurance and life insurance. I do not miss reality television that illustrates life as a pregnant teen, life in a rich, large or bigamist family. I do not miss shows about hoarders, addicts, drug dealers, gun runners, apocolyptic endings or what I should or shouldn't wear.
I am spending more time at the library. I know. I work there. But, I am finding that I am saving money by using library resources that are available to anyone in the community.
I am reading more. I've been able to read several newly released books since we've turned off the television. To purchase these books, I would have spent close to $25 - $30 per book. I have also been able to go back and read some books that I wanted to read again! Again, the savings were significant. And, my favorite magazines are available for me to borrow from the library. The magazine I read regularly is Writer's Digest which costs $5.95 per edition. I read about six each month so the savings would be about $30 - $40 per month. The garden is a project that we are planning for the spring and the library has been a wealth of resources with books on planting vegetables, landscaping, and helping us to learn how to compost.
Next on my library list to borrow are books on crafting. My dear mother, before her passing, was a huge crafter. She left me with several quilts to finish and skeins and skeins of yarn. Not being a quilter, the library was my obvious source for information on quilting. As well, the library has two knitting groups...as soon as I'm finished reading, I'll be there learning how to knit on Thursday nights.
As well, I'm borrowing movies that I'd like to see--both newly released videos and some of my old favorites. All of this is free--with my library card.
Do you have a library card? They are very easy to procure. Just stop in to your local library with some form of Identification and fill out a form. Within minutes, you will have access to all of the resources of your local library! And, I have to tell you...it's the most important card in my wallet!

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About Me

I wear several different hats at the library. Sometimes, you can find me at the circulation desk. I also work with the teens creating and coordinating teen programming. And, I am always looking for new ways to get our library information out to our patrons. This is our first attempt at blogging and we hope that the community finds these blogs to be helpful!